When West Las Vegas became an incorporated municipality in 1903, Margarito Romero was elected the first mayor of the Town of Las Vegas, and a Romero would be the Republican mayor of Old Town for the next quarter century. Don Margarito, youngest of the five Romero brothers, had led the effort to incorporate the west side, with the purpose of having the Town administer the Las Vegas Land Grant, as explained in an earlier column. (See “Land Grant Prompted Town of Las Vegas in 1903,” Nuestra Historia, Sept. 28, 2012.)

Submit your calendar items and notices to mlopez@lasvegasoptic.com
• Lions Club Glasses Collection Boxes are at the following locations. Banks: Southwest Capital, Community First, Douglas Ave and Legion Park; Wells Fargo; State Employees Credit Union. Opticians’ offices: WalMart, Eye Associates, Mills Ave; Insight Optical, Highway 518. Also at Shoes ‘n Boots, Seventh Street. Used glasses are repaired then donated to charity groups serving those in need around the world.
• Robertson High School Class of 1963 is having its 50th reunion in

By Susan Montoya Bryan
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE— An escaped Arizona convict killed an Oklahoma couple following a prison break because he didn’t want any witnesses to the carjacking and theft of their travel trailer and pickup truck, his former bunkmate and accomplice testified Wednesday.
In his third day on the stand in the capital murder trial of John McCluskey, Tracy Province said McCluskey told retirees Gary and Linda Haas that he wasn’t going to hurt them, and that he only wanted their truck, cash and guns.

By Barry Massey
The Associated Press
SANTA FE — As hundreds of gay couples flock to courthouses around New Mexico to get married, they are closely watching the next steps to be taken by the state’s highest court, the Legislature and possibly voters to resolve lingering legal questions on the issue.
For now, six of the state’s 33 counties are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and a number of other clerks say they’re waiting for a court order before they take similar steps.